Messer's in Montana
by Kates89
Summary: What adventures and fun will the Messer's have when they spend a week in Montana?
1. Arriving in Montana

**So this is my new story, it's only going to be about 7/8 chapters long and will just show each day of the Messer's holiday in Montana - if you have a spare few seconds please let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy it :)**

The Messer's had decided to take a week's vacation to Montana, Lindsay's cousin had just had a new baby and she wanted to bring her little family to meet their new relative. It was just after 9pm when the plane touched down in Montana. The sky was dark and both children were fast asleep and had been for the past two hours. Lucy was curled up on her side with her head leant against Danny's arm, while Joshua, who was also curled up in his chair had his head resting on Lindsay's legs.

The cabin crew had finally opened the plane door and were now allowing the passengers off. Lindsay placed her hands under Joshua's arms and carefully lifted him up, resting him on her hip, she reached for their carry on bag and placed it on her other shoulder. "Ready?" she asked her husband.

Danny nodded as he carefully shifted Lucy into a more comfortable position on his hip "Where's your Dad meeting us?"

"By the baggage claim" Lindsay replied as she began to walk down the aisle of the plane.

"Good, he can take Lucy then while I carry our luggage, was a bit worried about having to do both"

"I'm sure you would have managed"

"Course I would, but still its easier to do it with help"

Lindsay laughed as she exited the plane "These two are going to be so upset that they never got to meet Dad at the airport"

"I'm sure they'll get over it when they realise they are staying at his house and not a hotel like we told them"

"That's true. I spoke to Dad on the phone last night, he's so excited to see them, did you know last time we came up Lucy was only two and Joshua was just a baby"

"Really? It's been three years?"

Lindsay nodded "We need to come visit him more often, Danny, he gets lonely now Mum's gone"

"We will, Linds, I promise" Danny smiled.

They made their way through the airport and eventually arrived and baggage claims where Robert Monroe was waiting for them. Lindsay gave him a big smile when she saw him "Hey Dad"

"Hey Sweetheart, It's good to see you" He replied before leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"And you, sorry it's kind of late but Danny had to work this morning so we had to catch the later flight"

"Ah, don't worry about it, you're all here now and that's all that matters"

"Hey Robert" Danny said holding out his hand to greet his father-in-law.

Robert smiled and shook Danny's hand "It's good to see you again, son, it's been too long"

"It has, me and Lindsay were just discussing about coming up to visit you more regularly."

"I'd like that" Robert smiled.

"I think we all would" Danny agreed "Especially Lucy and Joshua, they were so excited all week about coming"

"I can't believe how big the two of them have got. how old are they now?"

Lindsay smiled, she knew how rubbish her Dad was when it came to ages and birthdays. "Lucy's five and Joshua is three"

"It's scary watching them grow up, isn't it?"

Lindsay nodded "Yeah, Lucy is starting kindergarten in September, that's scary"

"Talking of Lucy, would you mind taking her for me, Robert, while I just grab our cases?" Danny asked.

"No of course not" Robert replied, opening his arms. He carefully accepted his granddaughter, who stirred slightly but soon settled her head on Robert's shoulder and fell back to sleep.

"I'll be two minutes" Danny said before making his way over to the luggage claim.

"I've sorted out your brothers old room for Lucy and Joshua to sleep in" Robert told Lindsay as they waited for Danny to arrive back with the cases.

"They could have just stayed in with us"

"No, I'm not having no grandchild of mine sleeping on blow up bed on the floor, especially when there is two good beds in your brother's room. It just needed a bit of tidying and new duvet covers put on the bed"

"Aw thanks Dad" Lindsay smiled gratefully.

"I even went out and brought cartoon duvet covers for them, a princess one for Lucy and one tigers and lions on for Joshua"

"I'm sure they'll love them"

"Right, I've got the case" Danny called as he pulled their case behind them and carried a holdall over his shoulder.

"Come on then, let's go home, you two must be exhausted with all that flying?"

"Well I wouldn't say no to eight hours undisturbed sleep right now" Danny laughed.

Once they arrived at the car, Danny placed the luggage in the boot while Robert and Lindsay strapped the two sleeping children into their car seats. "Shall I sit in the back with them?" Lindsay asked.

"No, Linds you need to see up front with your Dad" Danny replied.

"As much as I'd love to sit up front with him, I'm not sure you'll fit between both of the car seats in the back."

Danny leaned over and looked at the small gap between the seats "No you're probably right, you sit there and I'll sit in the front"

"Okay" Lindsay carefully climbed over Joshua and settled herself in the middle seat.

"Everyone ready?" Robert asked from the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I'm all sorted" Danny replied.

"Me too" Lindsay added.

"Okay, let's go home" Robert smiled as he started the car and drove the family of four back to the Monroe house.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up outside Robert's white two-story house. "Home sweet home" he smiled as he cut off the engine and got out the car. "Want me to take the luggage in?"

"Would you mind?" Lindsay asked as she climbed out the car "It just means me and Danny can get the kids settled into their beds a lot quicker"

"No it's fine, want me to get some jammies out of the case for them?"

"No, They can just sleep in their pants and vests tonight" Lindsay told him as she undid Joshua's seatbelt and lifted him in to her arms.

"Won't they get cold?" Robert wondered.

"Nah, they're use to the cold weather with living in New York" Danny explained as he lifted Lucy from her seat.

"Okay, well while you get them settled, I'll make you both a nice hot cup of cocoa"

"You don't need to do that, Dad" Lindsay smiled as they walked up to the house.

"No I don't, but I want to. It's not often I get to see my only daughter these days, so I when I do, I like to spoil her"

Lindsay blushed as Robert opened the front door to the house that she grew up in. Walking in, she smiled seeing that the hallway was still the same as it always had been "You've still got the hight chart then?" Lindsay said pointing out the wall by the corner which had hers and her brother's heights recorded on in pencil.

"Of course" he smiled "I'm never getting rid of that, it reminds me of how small you all were once"

"We'll have to measure Lucy and Joshua against it tomorrow, see if they are as tall as you were at their age" Danny suggested.

"Yeah that sounds good" Lindsay replied "Let's get them up to bed now though before they wake"

"Okay, see you in a minute, Robert" Danny said as he followed Lindsay up the stairs to her brother's old bedroom.

Laying Lucy down on the bed, Danny carefully stripped her from her denim dress, pink leggings and her converse before pulling the duvet over her and giving her a kiss good night. He looked up to find Lindsay giving Joshua a kiss "Wanna switch?"

"Okay" She laughed as she came round to Lucy's bed to plant a soft kiss on her daughters forehead.

"Mummy?" Lucy murmured in her sleep.

"Yeah, baby, it's me. Go back to sleep" Lindsay whispered.

"In bed?"

"Yeah you're in bed now, it's night-time"

Lucy muttered something incoherent before rolling over and drifting back off to sleep.

"That was close" Danny said letting out a sigh of relief "We would never get any sleep if she woke up properly"

"No you're right, she'd be too excited to go back to sleep" Lindsay replied as they made their way out of the room, taking one last glance at her sleeping children, she pulled the door a jar and made her way down stairs with Danny.

"They settle okay?" Robert asked as he stirred the cocoa into one of the cups of hot milk.

"Yeah, Lucy sort of woke up but she soon drifted back off" Danny replied.

"Oh good" Robert smiled as he passed them each a cup. "Drink it up while it's still hot"

Lindsay sat down on one of the breakfast bar stools and took a sip of her hot chocolate "So, what do you have planned for us this week, Dad?"

"Not a lot really, I mean there's the horses in the field that I know Lucy would love to see and then my mate John has a load of tractors that Joshua will love, I spoke to him already and he said if it's okay with you two, he'll do a trailer ride with the kids but other than that, I thought you'd be making your own plans"

Lindsay nodded "Well I obviously want to see Megan and her new baby, I also want to take the children around Montana and just show them where I grew up and how it's different to New York, I know Lucy has seen it before but she was only two, so I doubt she remembers and I wouldn't mind paying a visit to the graveyard to see the girls"

"Well I guess you won't want to be taking the children to see the girls, so I don't mind watching them while you and Danny head up there at some point"

"Yeah, we can sit down and arrange some stuff tomorrow, I'm way to tired to think about anything now" Lindsay said before letting out a yawn.

"No that's fine, you two head up to bed, you've had a long day"

"Thanks Dad" Lindsay hopped of the stool and came to give her Father a kiss on the cheek. "I'm really looking forward to spending this week here with you"

"So am I" he smiled.

Danny picked up both of their hot cocoa's "See you in the morning, Robert"

"Yeah, see you then. You both sleep well"

"You to Dad, love you" Lindsay replied.

"Love you too, sweetie" Robert smiled, he watched the two of them head up stairs before going to the living room to watch a bit of TV before bed.

Lindsay and Danny went upstairs to her old childhood bedroom, putting the cups down on the side, Danny lifted up the case and placed it on the flowery bedspread that covered the bed. "Want me to get some jammies out for you?"

"Yeah, I'll just check the kids again while you do that"

"Okay" opening the case Danny pulled out some pyjama bottoms and a wife beater for himself and then a pair of pink pyjamas with small white polka dots for Lindsay, placing them on her pillow, he then proceeded to pull out all their bathroom essentials and carry them to the en-suite bathroom with his pyjamas so he could get changed.

"They're both still sound asleep" Lindsay called to him as she came back into the room, Picking up her cocoa, she took a sip before adding "Joshua is even snoring slightly"

"Aw, just like his Mummy does" Danny smirked as he came back into the bedroom.

"I do not snore" Lindsay exclaimed as she gently hit Danny's chest with her hand.

"Okay, okay, you don't snore" Danny said as he lifted the suitcase from the bed and placed it by the cupboard, ready for them to sort out all the clothes in the morning and hang them up. "Go get changed you, so we can get some sleep"

"Okay, back in a minute" Lindsay placed her cup back down on the side, picking up her pyjamas from the bed, she made her way into the bathroom to get changed.

Danny climbed into bed, pulling the duvet over himself, he laid down and waited for his wife to come back.

Lindsay exited the bathroom a few minutes later to find Danny fast asleep in bed. After switching the light out, she came to join him. Snuggling down under the covers she smiled to herself, she was pleased to finally be back in Montana with her Father. Snuggling up closer to Danny, she closed her eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber.


	2. Day One

**Here's the next chapter, it would have been up sooner but to be truthfully honest with you all, A few things have made me have doubts about my story writing and wondering if I want to continue with it. I will obviously finish this story but not sure what I'm going to do in terms of writing after. anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)**

"Maybe a monster came and stole are 'jamas"

"Josh, why would a monster want to eat our pyjamas?"

"Cos he was hungry"

"Maybe. I don't think this is the hotel that Daddy said we were staying at"

"Why not?"

"Cos I don't think a hotel would have a photo of Grandpa on the wall"

"I'll wake Mummy up and ask her if it's a hotel"

"Okay"

Lindsay smiled at the little exchange between her children, keeping her eyes close she waited for Joshua to come and wake her up.

"Mummy" Joshua whispered loudly before prodding her nose with his finger "It's wake up time"

Lindsay slowly opened her eyes and smiled at her son "Morning"

"You're awake!" Joshua exclaimed. "Tell Lucy we are in a hotel"

"I told you we're not Josh, cos a hotel wouldn't have photos of Grandpa up"

"They might" Joshua replied.

Lindsay laughed as she sat up in bed "Lucy's right Josh, we're not in a hotel"

"Oh... where are we then?"

"We're staying at Grandpa's house for the week"

Lucy's mouth fell open "We are? Is Grandpa here?"

"Of course Grandpa's here, it's his house" Lindsay laughed.

"Can I go see him? Please?" the five-year old begged excitedly.

"No, not right now as it's..." Lindsay looked over at the alarm clock that sat on the night stand "twenty to six, wow you two got up early today"

"Mummy" Joshua said as he attempted to climb on to the bed "Where's are 'jamas?"

Lindsay lifted him up and sat him on her lap "You and Lucy fell asleep on the plane last night, so instead of waking you up and changing you into your pyjamas we decided to just let you sleep in your vest and pants"

"Oh kay" Joshua replied before shuffling over to sit in the middle of the bed "whys Daddy not awake yet?"

"Because Daddy's very tired. Why don't we go and run the two of you a bath while Daddy sleeps." Lindsay suggested as she climbed out of bed.

"Okay" Lucy replied.

"Can we wake Daddy up after the bath?" Joshua asked as Lindsay lifted him from the bed and held him against her hip.

"We'll see" she told him as she led her two children to the bathroom.

A couple of hours later both children had been bathed and dressed, Lucy in a yellow summer dress while Joshua was in a pair of denim shorts and a spider man top. They had both played in their room while Lindsay got herself ready and now the three of them were at the breakfast table, the children were eating their cereal while Lindsay was putting Lucy's hair into two French braids.

"Can we play some more after breakfast?" Joshua asked before taking a sip of his orange juice.

"You can for a little bit but I think Grandpa might have a surprise for the two of you a bit later" Lindsay replied as she tied the bobble into the bottom of one of Lucy's braids.

Joshua's eyes went wide and the mention of a surprise "A nice one?"

"The best one" Lindsay told him as she started on the second braid.

The door to the kitchen opened and a very sleepy looking Danny made his way in rubbing his eyes. "Morning" he yawned.

"Daddy!" Joshua squealed excitedly. Slipping out of his chair he ran over to his Father and wrapped his little arms around his waist.

"Hey Buddy" Danny smiled as he lifted Joshua up "Have you finished your breakfast"

"No" Joshua replied shaking his head.

"Well, you shouldn't be getting down from the table then, should you? You know the rules and just because we're on holiday, doesn't mean they've changed, okay?" Danny told him as he carried him over and placed him back on his chair. "Now, I'm going to get dressed, I want that bowl empty when I get back"

"Kay Daddy" Joshua picked up his spoon and began to eat his cereals.

Danny kissed the top of his son's head "Good boy" he then made his way over to Lindsay "Sleep well?"

"Yeah" she smiled as she tied the final bobble in Lucy's hair. "I forgot how comfy that bed was"

"It was really comfy" he agreed before giving her a kiss.

"Do I look pretty, Daddy?" Lucy asked interrupting the couple from where she sat at the table.

"You look very pretty, Lucy-girl" Danny told her.

"So do you" She grinned at him before scooping up another spoonful of cereal.

Danny laughed and kissed the top of her head "You are funny. Right, I'm just going to get dressed, I'll be back soon"

Danny left the room and bumped in to Robert as he was coming down the stairs. "am I the last one up?"

Danny nodded "Yeah, but it's hard to be the first, when you're in a house with Joshua and Lucy so I wouldn't worry about it"

"Are they all in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, they're just having breakfast" Danny explained "I'll be down in a minute, just want to get dressed"

"Okay, see you in bit" Robert smiled before heading off to the kitchen to find his grandchildren.

"Grandpa!" Lucy squealed as he entered. She quickly scooped up the last few spoonfuls of cereals from her bowl before running over and giving Robert a cuddle.

Joshua, who'd last seen his Grandpa when he was six months old and had only spoken to him over the phone or on Skype stayed on his chair and observed the interaction between his sister and their grandfather.

"Are you going to say hi, Josh?" Lindsay asked.

"I've not ate all my cereal yet" Joshua replied.

"Well eat it up and then you can say hello"

"Or I could just come to you" Robert smiled as he sat on Lucy's chair and lifted his granddaughter on to his lap. "I can't belive how big you two have got"

"I'm getting big and strong like Daddy" Joshua said shyly.

"You are, and you are starting to look more like your Daddy too"

"Do I look like Daddy?" Lucy asked.

"You look a lot like your Mummy, Luce but you've got your Dad's eyes, don't you?"

Lucy nodded with a grin. "I like my blue eyes, Uncle Flack has blue eyes too"

"He does?"

"Yeah but their not as blue as Daddy's!"

"Do you got a 'prise for us?" Joshua asked his Grandpa.

"I don't know, do I?" Robert asked looking up at Lindsay.

"I thought you might like to take them to meet your friends in the field"

Robert thought for a minute trying to work out who his 'friends' were before it finally clicked "Oh yes, I'd love to take them down there"

Lucy looked up at her Mother "Take us where?"

"You'll see" Lindsay smiled.

Half an hour later the four Messers and Robert made their way to the small horse field that sat just behind Robert's back yard.

"Where we going?" Lucy asked as she skipped along side her parents.

"It's just down here" Robert said pointing to the field in front of them.

"But I don't see nothing 'cept grass" Lucy sighed.

"I see, I see!" Joshua exclaimed from where he sat on Danny's shoulders.

"What? What do you see?" Lucy asked.

Joshua pointed towards the field. "Horsies, Lucy, lots and lots of them!"

"I love horses!" Lucy said excitedly before beginning to run towards the field.

"Has she ever even seen a horse?" Robert asked.

"Well she saw them here when she was two and then Mac and Christine took them both to a small farm a few months back where she got to ride a horse" Lindsay explained.

"She wanted her own one for weeks after that, had a name for it and everything" Danny added.

"That reminds me of someone else I know" Robert smiled as he looked at Lindsay.

"Hey, I wasn't that bad"

"Oh you were, you even drew a map of the garden and showed me where I was meant to build the stable"

Lindsay laughed "Okay, okay, maybe I was as bad"

They soon arrived at the horse field where Lucy was already stood on the fence stroking the nose of a brown horse. "He's so lovely, can we keep him?"

"No" Danny replied quickly "I'm sure he already has an owner who loves him very much"

"Oh" Lucy pouted "Can I least ride him?"

"Not today, Lucy but I will speak to the owner and see if you can have a ride before you go home, does that sound okay?" Robert suggested.

Lucy nodded "That sounds great, Grandpa!"

"I thought it would"

"Daddy, Daddy" Lucy said excitedly as she grabbed the bottom of her Father's t-shirt "Let's go see the white horse down there"

"Okay, come on then" letting go of one of Joshua's legs, he took hold of Lucy's hand and together the three of them made their way to the white horse.

"He's a good Father, isn't he?" Robert asked Lindsay as she leant against the fence and stroked the brown horse's mane.

"The best" she smiled "the children idolize him, just as he does them"

"I'm glad things worked out for the two of you"

"So am I, not sure I could have raised Lucy on my own, I mean I would have done, if that's how things had worked out but I can imagine it would have been hard"

Robert nodded "You'd of managed, Linds. You're just like your Mother in that respect"

Lindsay gave him a small smile before turning back to stroke the horse.

"I hope on your visit up here that'll you'll take some time to visit your Mum"

"Dad..."

"Lindsay, look I know it's hard but you're going to visit the girls, so why can't you visit your Mother at the same time"

Lindsay sighed "I saw the girls die, Dad. I saw the life drain from them, so in my head they're dead and they're never coming back but the last time I saw Mum, she was happily singing in the kitchen as she made one of her famous Victoria sponges... I guess I'm just scared that if I visit her grave it'll make that vision disappear"

"Why would it?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just being silly"

"I can come with you if you like? Or you can take Danny?"

Lindsay nodded "I'll go, Dad. I just... not today"

"Okay, not today but as long as you do go to visit her"

The two stood in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Lindsay finally spoke "I miss her"

"So do I, sweetheart"

"It makes me sad, Dad that she never got to meet Joshua and she never got to see Lucy grow into the beautiful little girl that she is"

"I'm sure she's watching over them, Lindsay"

"I'd like to think so"

"When you go down you can tell her all about them, even take them with you if you want to"

Lindsay shook her head "I don't want them two to have to visit a graveyard on their holiday. They both have some sort of understanding about death, obviously because of the job me and Danny do but I don't really want to thrust it upon them this week"

"No and I completely understand that" Robert told her.

"Mummy, come see this horsie!" Joshua called from where he now stood on the fence with Lucy.

"I'm coming, Josh" Lindsay called back. "Coming Dad?"

"Of course"

Lindsay smiled and linked her arm through her Father's and together the two of them went to join the rest of the family.


	3. Day Two

**Here's another chapter :) I hope you are all enjoying it, I love reading all your reviews so please let me know what you think :)**

"Now remember, baby Evie is only little, okay, so you need to be quiet and gentle with her" Danny reminded the children as he lifted Joshua out of the rental car that they had finally got round to getting yesterday afternoon and placed him next to Lucy.

"We will, Daddy" Lucy replied.

"We'll be super quiet!" Joshua added.

Lindsay came round from the passenger side and took a hand from each child in hers "Come on then, let's go meet Evie"

"Yay!" both children exclaimed together.

Danny locked the car and the family of four made their way up the path and to the front door of Megan's house. Danny rang the door bell, a few seconds later a petite, brown-haired woman with green eyes appeared. "Lindsay?"

"Yeah Megs, it's me" Lindsay smiled.

"What... when... Uncle Robert never mentioned you were coming"

"No, I wanted to surprise you"

"Well you've certainly done that"

"Can we meet baby Evie?" Lucy asked with a grin.

"Lucy?" Megan asked looking at the five-year old in shock "When did you get so big?"

Lucy shrugged "I dunno, I think it's cos Mummy and Daddy keep feeding me vegi-bubbles"

Megan giggled as she moved back from the door "Please come in, Thomas is going too be so shocked when he sees you all"

The four Messer's made their way into the house, each taking their shoes off in the hallway as not to ruin Megan's hardwood floors. They all then went into the sitting room where Megan's husband Thomas was sat with baby Evie in his arms.

"Tom, look who's here" Megan announced.

Thomas looked up to see the four Messer's enter. "Wow, Lindsay Monroe, I never thought we'd be seeing you again after you moved to the big apple"

Lindsay smiled "Oh Tom, you knew I wouldn't be able to stay away from Montana forever"

"Is that the baby?" Lucy asked pointing to the pink bundle in Thomas's arms.

Thomas nodded "Would you like to see her?"

"Yes please!" both children replied as the ran over to see the baby.

"She's sleeping at the moment, but she should be up soon for some food" Thomas explained.

"She's so cute" Lucy whispered as she gently ran her finger over Evie's forehead.

Joshua looked at Evie in awe before finally tearing his eyes away, he looked up at his parents "Can we get a baby?"

Danny laughed "I don't think so"

Joshua pouted "Why?"

"Because me and Mummy are happy with just the two of you"

"Oh... but maybe you could think about it?"

"Okay, we'll think about it" Danny smiled before turning his attention to his wife "You okay?"

Lindsay nodded as she watched Lucy and Joshua interact with Evie.

"Adorable isn't she?"

Lindsay again nodded.

"Linds? You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, It's... don't worry"

"No, I am worried now" Danny took Lindsay's hand and pulled her through the door which led into the empty kitchen "Look we're alone now, tell me what's wrong"

Lindsay sighed as she pulled out a chair from under the table and sat down. "It's just something my Dad said yesterday"

Danny knelt down beside his wife's chair and held her hand "What did your Dad say?"

"He wants me to visits Mum's grave"

"What's wrong with that? You can do that"

"I can't Danny, I can't see her like that"

Danny frowned "What do you mean? Surely you saw her like that when you attended her funeral"

"That's the thing, I never went to her funeral" Lindsay whispered as she looked down at their entwined fingers.

"What do you mean? Me and Lucy dropped you off at the airport when you went to attend her funeral"

Lindsay sighed "You did, but Dad's next door neighbour wrote the invites and I don't really know what happened, maybe the ink smudged or something but the funeral was on the thirteenth but on my invite it..."

"Looked like the eighteenth" Danny said finishing of her sentence with a sigh.

"Yeah, so by the time I arrived I had missed it"

"So, you've never been back to visit your Mum in the whole four and a half years since she died?"

Lindsay shook her head "It's just easier to think of her as alive, dancing and singing around the kitchen."

"Linds, you need to see her, you need to say a proper good-bye" Danny told her as he stroked his thumb over the back of her hand.

"I know I do, but I just can't"

"You can, we can do it together"

"I don't know if I..."

"Mummy, where are you?" Joshua's little voice called from the sitting room.

"We're in the kitchen, Josh" Danny called back.

Joshua pushed open the kitchen door and walked in "What are you doing in here? Are you making a new baby for me?"

Lindsay let out a small giggle "No, sweetheart, me and Daddy are just talking about grown up stuff"

"What sort of grown up stuff?" Joshua asked inquisitively.

"Just stuff" Danny replied as he held out his arm and pulled Joshua towards him for a cuddle "Where's that sister of yours?"

"She's having cuddle with Evie"

"Did you not want a cuddle?" Lindsay asked.

"I had one" Joshua explained.

"And now you're getting cuddles with us" Danny smiled as he sandwiched Joshua between him and Lindsay.

"Mummy and Daddy cuddles are the best!" Joshua exclaimed.

The kitchen door opened again and this time Megan came through, she stopped as she spotted Danny, Lindsay and Joshua "Sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting anything"

"No, of course not" Lindsay smiled "This is your house, we're the ones who should be sorry for disappearing"

"No, don't worry about it" Megan smiled "I was just about to make some lunch while Thomas feeds Evie her bottle, would you four like to stay for some?"

"Can we stay for lunch, Mummy? Please?" Joshua asked as he looked up at his Mother with his big blue eyes.

Lindsay leaned down and kissed his button nose "We'd love to stay for lunch, Megan"

"Good, are sandwiches okay?"

"Cheese and ham ones?" Joshua asked.

"I'm sure I can rustle you up a cheese and ham sandwich" Megan told him as she made her way over to the fridge.

Half an hour later after Evie had been fed and put in her cot, the four adults, Lucy and Joshua sat round the table to have lunch.

"So, how long are you here for?" Megan asked

"Only until Sunday" Lindsay replied "As we both work together it's hard to get a longer amount of time off work"

"Oh, you both work in the crime lab don't you?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah, they fight crimes like superheroes!" Joshua exclaimed with a mouthful of sandwich.

"Joshua, don't talk with your mouthful" Danny reminded him.

Joshua swallowed the bit of food before apologising to his Father.

"It's okay, just don't do it again"

"I won't, Daddy"

"So, it must be so interesting working in the New York crime lab" Thomas said trying to carry on the conversation.

"Yeah, it has its days" Lindsay smiled "What is it you do again?"

"Oh, I'm just a delivery man, nothing as exciting as your job"

"So you deliver presents?" Lucy wondered.

Thomas nodded "Sometimes"

"So have you met Santa?"

Thomas smiled "No, because Santa delivers all his presents himself, doesn't he?"

"Oh yeah" Lucy giggled "I forgot"

"When will Evie be back down to play?" Joshua asked as he reached for his drink.

"Not for a while yet, she has a good long nap after her lunch" Megan explained.

"But she was napping when we got here"

"I know, but she's only little so she needs lots of sleep" Megan smiled.

Joshua pouted "Can we come see her another day?"

"That's up to your Mummy and Daddy"

Joshua turned and looked up at his Mum "Can we Mummy?"

"We'll see, okay? We've got other things we need to do but if we get a spare hour, we'll come back and see Evie"

"Okay" Joshua replied happily.

The family spent another couple of hours with Megan and Thomas before they headed off to the local supermarket to grab a few items that Robert had asked for before they had left that morning.

Joshua and Lucy walked along, each holding one of Danny's hands while Lindsay pushed the trolley. "I remember coming to this place every weekend as a kid"

"Yeah?" Danny asked

Lindsay nodded "I'd always come down here with my Dad and Lucas while Mum stayed in to make the Sunday lunch"

"Sounds a bit like me, but my Dad would take me and Louie down to park to play some ball while Ma cooked lunch"

"Maybe you need to carry on our families tradition and start taking our two out every Sunday while I cook dinner"

"Will that be before or after I finish my shift at the lab?"

Lindsay laughed "Yeah, I guess we don't have the right sort of job to carry on that tradition"

"Mummy, can we get this?" Lucy asked holding up a packet of jelly.

"You want to make some jelly?" Lindsay asked.

"Yeah, I did it with Auntie Jo and Ellie the other week and it was fun"

"Okay, put it in, me and you can make it for Grandpa for pudding"

"Yes!" Lucy grinned as she chucked the jelly packet into the trolley.

"Can I help?" Joshua asked.

"Of course you can help, we can all make it" Lindsay told him.

"I like helping"

"I know you do and you are a very good little helper" Lindsay smiled.

They carried on walking around the supermarket, chatting to each other and putting the items in the trolley that Robert had requested when suddenly Joshua stopped.

"Hey buddy, what's the matter?" Danny asked kneeling in front of his son.

Joshua pointed up at one of the shelves "Look!"

"What?" Danny asked looking up to where Joshua was pointing.

"They got diapers"

"Yeah they do, but you don't need them any more, you're in big boy pants" Danny smiled standing back up "Come on, let's finish shopping"

"No Daddy!" Joshua said grabbing hold of his Father's hand.

"Josh, what is it?" Danny asked with concern in his voice.

"If they got diapers they must got babies, right? Can we get one?"

Danny heard giggling and turned to see his wife stood by the trolley with a smile on her face "You can explain that one"

"Josh" Danny began as he knelt back in front of his son "Babies don't come from shops, they come from Mummy's tummy"

Joshua frowned "How?"

Danny groaned, he wasn't going to have _that_ conversation with a three-year old, not even one as clever as Joshua. "Erm.. well it's kind of magic"

"Magic?"

"Yeah me and Mummy make a magic potion together and boom a baby is made"

"And they live in Mummy's tummy?"

"Yeah, that's where they have to stay for a little while to grow"

"Oh" Joshua said as he thought about what his Father has just explained to him.

"So me and Joshua are magic?" Lucy asked coming over to join her Father and brother.

"No... well, sort of" Danny mumbled "I mean you can't do spells and stuff but you're made of magic"

"Come on you two" Lindsay said coming to Danny's rescue "Let's carry on shopping or we won't have anything for dinner tonight"

"Okay Mummy" Lucy said skipping back over to her Mother.

"Carry me, Daddy?" Joshua asked his Father.

"Come on then, lazy-boy" Danny said as he picked Joshua up and carried him over to Lindsay and Lucy. "What else do we need?"

"Just some sugar and milk and then I think we're done" Lindsay replied.

"Okay, well I think we went past the milk earlier"

"Oh, come on then let's go back and get it" Lindsay said as she turned the shopping trolley round and began to push it towards the milk aisle with Lucy holding the side of it.

Ten minutes later everything was brought, packed away in the car and the family of four was now heading back to Robert's house, so Lindsay could pack the shopping away and help her Father cook dinner, while Danny played with Lucy and Joshua in the garden.


	4. Day Three

**Another chapter for you all, it didn't come out quite as I had expected it to, but I still quite like it, so I hope you all do as well :)**

"And that's where I went to school" Lindsay pointed out the car window to her old school.

Lucy frowned "You went to school?"

"Of course Mummy went to school" Danny laughed "Where do you think she learnt to be so clever?"

"From Grandpa" Lucy replied.

"So you were little like us, Mummy?" Joshua asked.

"Yep, I used to be a little three-year old the same as you" Lindsay told him with a smile.

"Oh" Joshua replied "I never knew that"

Lindsay laughed "You do make me laugh, Josh"

"What else did you used to do around here?" Lucy asked as she looked out the window.

"Well if you keep looking, there should be a park coming up which I used to play in with my friends after school"

"A park!" Joshua said excitedly "Can we go play in it? Please?"

"Yeah, if it's still there then I don't see why not" Lindsay smiled.

"Yay!" both children squealed from the back of the car.

Danny drove along the road and found a suitable place to park. Lindsay and Danny got both children out of the car and together they walked along the path towards the small park. "Does it have swings?" Lucy asked as she held her Mother's hand.

"It has four swings" Lindsay told her "And a slide, a roundabout and a climbing frame!"

"What about a see-saw?" Joshua asked.

"I'm pretty sure it has one of them too" Lindsay replied.

"Look! There it is!" Lucy said pointing to the small play park "Can we run to it?"

"Go on then" Lindsay smiled as she let go of Lucy's hand. Her and Danny watched as their two children raced towards the play park, both heading towards the swings. "We can stay here for half hour if you like, before heading to town for some lunch?" Lindsay suggested to her husband.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me" Danny replied as he took hold of his wife's hand "This is your day though, your day to show the three of us where you grew up, so we can do what you want, when you want, okay?"

Lindsay nodded "Okay, maybe in town we can let the children choose little gifts for Mac and the others"

"Yeah, they'll like that" Danny smiled as he opened the gate to the park and allowed Lindsay to walk through. "Any other plans after that?"

Lindsay thought for a moment as they walked towards the bench and sat down. "We can just carry on our drive after that, It's easier to show them both places like that."

Danny smiled as he wrapped his arm around Lindsay's shoulders. "Does all this make you miss Montana?"

"No" Lindsay replied quickly "I love Montana but New York is my home now. Montana will always hold my childhood memories and it's where my father and brother are but it also holds a lot of dark memories for me, where as New York only holds good ones, it's where I met you and it's where we had our children"

"Talking of your brother, are we going to visit him on this trip?"

"He's working a crazy amount but I have sent him a text to see if we can pay him a visit, I'm just waiting to hear back from him."

"Okay" Danny replied. "It'll be good to see him again"

"It would, I'd love to see them both again. I hate that George has to work away in England"

"But he's coming back for Christmas isn't he?"

Lindsay nodded "Yeah and he mentioned about his flight having a lay over in New York, so hopefully I might be able to see him then"

"Yeah, maybe we could invite him over for Christmas, your Dad and Lucas too. I bet your Dad would love seeing the three of you together again"

"Maybe, I'll speak to Dad and see what he says, I just know he likes to spend some time with Mum on Christmas day"

"It doesn't hurt to ask though, do..." Danny was interrupted by the sound of Joshua sobbing. Looking up he saw his three-year old laid on the floor crying his eyes out. "I'll get him" he said to Lindsay as he stood up and ran over to the toddler. "Hey buddy" he picked Joshua up and held him on his hip "What happened?"

Joshua sniffed "I tripped"

"You did? Is that silly pavement being mean again?"

Joshua nodded and wiped the tears from his eye.

"Does Daddy have to stamp on that pavement again and tell it how bad it's been for hurting you?"

Joshua giggled and gave his Father another nod.

Danny stomped on the pavement with his left foot "Bad pavement, you hurt my Joshua!"

"I stamp!" Joshua exclaimed.

"Okay, you stamp too" Danny smiled as he placed Joshua on the floor.

The three-year old started jumping up and down on the piece of pavement "Bad pavement! You hurted me!"

"Where did he hurt you, Josh?" Danny asked coming to kneel in front of his son.

"My hands" Joshua replied holding out his hands to show his Father the small graze that was now on his right palm.

Danny picked up Joshua's hand and planted a small kiss to his right palm "Does it feel better now?"

"Much!" Joshua grinned. "Thank you, Daddy"

"Your welcome, now go back off and play with Lucy, as we'll be going soon for some lunch"

"Okay" Joshua said before racing off to find his sister.

"Is he okay?" Lindsay asked as Danny came to sit back on the bench.

"Yeah, I think the shock of the fall scared him more than anything else"

"Bless him, he totally inherited your clumsiness gene"

"I know, poor kid"

"Well, at least Lucy escaped it" Lindsay smiled.

"Ah yeah, but she got my messiness gene, didn't she?"

"Least they both got my cute gene" Lindsay giggled.

"Oh yeah, they both definitely got that" Danny replied before planting a kiss to his wife's lips.

An hour later the family of four was strolling through town looking for somewhere to eat. "What do you two fancy having?" Danny asked the children.

"Food" Lucy replied with a grin.

"Well obviously, what else do you expect to eat?"

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know, I just know I'm super hungry"

"Can we eat there?" Joshua asked pointing across the road.

Lindsay looked up to where her son was pointing and her heart dropped into her stomach, out of all the food places in this town, why did he have to point to that one?

"Linds?" Danny asked looking at his wife "You okay?"

Lindsay nodded "I... let's not eat there"

Danny looked up and realised Joshua had pointed to the very same café in which Lindsay's friends had died in although those years before. "Yeah, let's find somewhere else, Josh"

"But why?" Joshua whined "That place looks good and it's got a giant ice cream outside"

"Because I said no, that's why" Danny said as he took Joshua's hand and began walking with him again along the pavement "We'll go to somewhere, where you can have a proper meal, okay?"

Joshua nodded with a sigh.

The family carried on and soon found a little pizza restaurant which all four were happy to eat in. Once they were seated Danny picked up a menu and began to skim through it.

"Can I have ham and pineapple?" Lucy asked.

"Course you can" Danny replied "Is that what you want to, Josh?"

Joshua shook his head "Can I have 'romi?"

"Are you sure you'll eat that? You had it last time remember and didn't like it because it was to spicy" Lindsay reminded him.

"I'll eat it, I promise!"

"Okay" Lindsay said before turning to Danny "When you do up, ask how spicy it is and if it's to spicy just get him a ham one, I'm not having him wasting a whole pizza again"

"Okay" Danny replied. "What do you fancy?"

"I'll just have a BBQ chicken one"

Danny smiled "That's what I was going to go for"

"Just get a large one then and we can split it in half, must be cheaper"

"Okay, so one large pizza and two children's ones coming right up" Danny told them as he got out of the booth and made his way to the counter to order their pizzas.

"Are you two having fun today?" Lindsay asked.

Lucy nodded "I like Montana, it's pretty"

"But New York is better" Joshua added.

"How come?" Lindsay asked.

"Cos it's got Uncle Flack in it"

Lindsay laughed "Are you missing your Uncle Flack?"

Joshua nodded "I bet he's missing me too... we should ring him later, shouldn't we? Just to make sure he's okay"

"Okay, we'll give him a call when we get back to Grandpa's okay?"

"Can I speak to him too?" Lucy asked.

"You can both speak to him when I phone him. You'll be seeing him on Sunday though"

"I know, but I just want to make sure he hasn't been crying cos of how much he misses me" Joshua explained before picking up a colouring crayon and going back to the colouring sheet that the restaurant had provided both children.


End file.
